OUR STORY
OUR PAST
St. John Bosco Academy began as Summit Academy through the inspiration of a group of women while on retreat in the spring of 1997. In the fall of that same year, Summit Academy opened with six families who enrolled their children. In the span of one year, what began as a single teacher forming 14 students in the basement of a home grew to be 29 students with three teachers. By the beginning of the second school year, thirty students with three teachers were meeting in an older two-room home on the north end of Cottonwood, Idaho. Soon the rental home was purchased by three dedicated benefactors of the school, and was donated to the school. As the Academy continued to grow in number, two additional classrooms and a gymnasium building were constructed. At one point, because of the growing enrollment, the American Legion even allowed the school the use of their building for some of the high school classes.
Initially, the classes began with Kindergarten through fifth grade but as each year passed the school provided for the next year, by adding a sixth grade, then seventh grade, and then an eighth grade. Shortly afterwards, a high school was added, and four years later in 2005 the first class of four seniors graduated from Summit Academy. Since that time Summit Academy has provided formation for students from pre-school through grade 12 and is now an Idaho accredited school.
Prayers were answered through the intercession of St. Joseph, and in the spring of 2002 forty acres of land was donated to the school. Generous donors, both in cash and in labor, provided for the building of the current school structure, which opened its doors in the fall of 2002.
St. John Bosco Academy gives thanks to God for the many who gave so many hours laboring, teaching, and offering up many years of their lives for the sake of providing students in the area with a Catholic education. God will remember your sacrifices. Thank you!
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OUR PRESENT
Originally the building housed five classrooms and a computer lab, administration offices, a small kitchen, and gym. Later an upstairs with two large classrooms and a teacher workroom, along with a library, was added.
A beautiful chapel, was completed in November of 2014 and has the capacity to hold all students and staff members for morning and afternoon prayer. The school grounds provide the students with large grassy play areas and over 1300 trees and bushes were donated and planted around the perimeter of the property, adding to its outdoor beauty.
In 2017 St. John Bosco received provisional affiliation with the Diocese of Boise. At the Academy’s 20th anniversary celebration the board announced their decision to change the name to better reflect it's Catholicity. After much consideration the board announced the new name of St. John Bosco Academy, which went into effect July 1, 2019
Construction of the Angelus Center was completed in 2024. This complex houses athletics facilities as well as a theater. This much-needed and highly-anticipated center will serve the school for years to come. We are now able to host volleyball and basketball games (previously held off-site in a rented gym) and present drama productions on a permanent stage. Previously plays were held in a multipurpose space that didn't fit the number attending, had poor lighting and sound, and a temporary stage, which interrupted before school play and P.E. classes.
A shop building was constructed in conjunction with the Angelus Center which allows space for wood, metal and auto shop classes.
Currently, 115 students from 40 families attend the academy, and a total of 19 part-time and full-time teachers work diligently to help form those students into the Catholic leaders of tomorrow.
St. John Bosco Academy is currently approved and fully accredited by WCEA and Cognia.
OUR FUTURE
In general, St. John Bosco Academy continues to make improvements in its classical model of education which infuses grammar, logic, and rhetoric throughout the regular coursework for the primary and secondary classes. In the elementary school, we teach a phonics-based language arts program. Students in seventh and eighth grade are introduced to Latin and literary classics. High school classes include scholastic theology and a humanities program which incorporates the Great Books and combines Latin, history and literature.
Students are also provided ample opportunities to explore the fundamentals and the complexities involving the various sciences. One current limitation is the lack of space necessary for completing larger, long-term science projects.
Ultimately, we endeavor to assist families in educating their children so that they may become Catholic ladies and gentlemen and are able to intelligently, kindly and responsibly interact with the needs and concerns of our modern world.